David Balfour is no sooner back in Edinburgh and restored to his estate than he is caught up in the aftermath of the Appin murder. Since he was present when the crime was committed, he knows that the accused, James Stewart, is innocent. Determined to testify on his behalf, David is waylaid yet again and thrust upon a further series of adventures. He meets the son of Rob Roy Macgregor, and falls in love with his daughter Catriona. The romance between David and Catriona is passionate but beset with problems.

Alan Breck, David Balfour’s mentor and collaborator in Kidnapped, becomes involved in an attempt to unite the lovers and it is on this note of hope that the adventure enters its final chapters. Catriona is the immediate sequel to Kidnapped, which Stevenson had always planned, although it took eight years to appear. The book is not as well known as Kidnapped, yet it was one of Stevenson’s own favourites. He considered it to be his ‘high water mark’, saying that he would ‘never do a better book’.